Newmarket residents in the HighGate neighbourhood are banding together in protest of a cellphone tower.
Bell Canada wants to install a 40-metre monopole tower at 1000 Gorham St., the Cedarview Community Church property, along with an equipment shelter at the base and security fencing. The tower aims to help improve wireless communications in the area, and the company has put out notices to property owners on neighbouring Gorham Street and Crowder Boulevard.
However, some residents in the area are expressing opposition fearing the idea of health impacts from the tower. Area resident Ates Eraktan lives in the HighGate community nearby and said he does not want to see something that close to their backyards.
“It’s going to be a huge, 40 feet long, and we don’t want that cell tower,” he said, adding he fears for health effects the proximity could have. “If this tower was away one kilometre, I wouldn’t worry about it, but right now, it’s so close.”
Cellphone towers are known to use low-powered radiofrequency energy, according to the Government of Canada, a form of radiation not able to break the chemical bonds of the body. Health Canada states the radiofrequency from cell technology, including cellphones and towers, does not pose a risk based on scientific research.
“Based on the available scientific evidence, there are no health risks from exposure to the low levels of radiofrequency EMF (electromagnetic field), which people are exposed to from cellphones, cellphone towers, antennas and 5G devices,” Health Canada said on its website. “Thousands of scientific studies have evaluated the safety of radiofrequency EMF.”
Health Canada said the only adverse health effects that can occur at levels above Canadian limits are tissue heating, such as warming of the skin, and nerve stimulation, which can cause a tingling sensation in the skin.
Regardless, the proximity to homes for the tower is causing concern among neighbours. In a submission to Bell Canada, the HighGate community’s board of directors said it remains uneasy about possible health effects, citing three studies more than 15 years old into links between cellphone tower proximity and increased cancer risk.
“No, the evidence is not definitive. Yes, we understand the need for cell towers and their importance for modern communications,” the submission reads. “In the present circumstances, the best policy would be a cautious one: Cell towers should be located away from areas of high human density.”
Instead of the church area, the submission suggests the tower would be better located at an industrial park on Leslie Street rather than the proposed one within 200 metres of a residential neighbourhood and two retirement homes.
Health Canada notes there are thousands of studies on the issue available online. Further information is available on the Health Canada website.
Bell Canada’s representative, FONTUR International Inc., could not be reached before publication. The public notice said the tower would be shrouded, meaning there would be measures to help it blend into the background more.
Shrouding was a point of contention with a proposed cellphone tower from Rogers considered on Town of Newmarket-owned land by the Magna Centre. A resolution is still to come, but cellphone tower approval and regulations are under federal jurisdiction.
Although a public open house was already held on the tower, HighGate board of directors president Peter Frost said they want another meeting, as Bell Canada did not notify all impacted households within a radius of the site and did not advertise on Doak Lane.